Queen Elizabeth II, Britain's longest-reigning monarch, dies aged 96

Queen Elizabeth II: Queen Elizabeth II, the world’s oldest monarch and the longest reigning monarch of Britain, passed away at Balmoral on 8th Sept 2022 at the age of 96.

Key Points:

Buckingham Palace announced her death in a statement, triggering 10 days of national mourning.
The formal statement by Buckingham Palace read “The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon," said Buckingham Palace in a statement at 6:30 pm (1730 GMT).
At 18:30 BST, the Union flag atop the palace was lowered to half-staff, and a formal notification of the death was put up on a noticeboard outside.
With her passing, 73-year-old Prince Charles of Wales who is the eldest of the four royal children, will take over as the King of England with immediate effect.
The announcement comes a day after the 96-year-old monarch cancelled a meeting of her Privy Council.
Two days earlier the queen appointed Liz Truss as the 15th prime minister of her reign.
Queen Elizabeth II had been facing health problems since October last year that left her with difficulties walking and standing.
Plans for the Queen’s death and the accession of Charles, 73, to the British throne are code named Operation London Bridge and Operation Spring Tide respectively.

About Queen Elizabeth II:

Elizabeth II, formally known as Elizabeth Alexandra Mary was Queen of the United Kingdom from 6 February 1952 until her death on 8 September 2022.
Her 70 years and 214 days of reign were the second-longest of any monarch of a sovereign state and the longest of any British monarch.
In 2015, Queen Elizabeth became the longest-serving British monarch, surpassing her great-great grandmother Queen Victoria.
In 2022, she became the world’s second longest reigning monarch.
At the time of her death, Queen Elizabeth reigned over 14 additional Commonwealth nations in addition to the United Kingdom.
Her reign spanned 15 Prime Ministers starting with Winston Churchill and including Ms Truss. She held weekly audiences with her Prime Minister throughout her reign.
The period of austerity that followed World War II, the transition from an empire to a Commonwealth, the conclusion of the Cold War, and the UK's membership in and exit from the European Union were all covered by Queen Elizabeth II's tenure as head of state.
She was the only monarch they had ever known, featuring on stamps, banknotes and coins, and immortalised in popular culture.

Queen Elizabeth II Early Life:

She was born on 21st April 1926 in Mayfair, London.
She was the first child of the Duke and Duchess of York (later King George VI and Queen Elizabeth).
Her father acceded to the throne in 1936 upon the abdication of his brother, King Edward VIII, making Elizabeth the heir presumptive.
She was educated privately at home.
She began to undertake public duties during the Second World War, serving in the Auxiliary Territorial Service.
In November 1947, she married Philip Mountbatten, a former prince of Greece and Denmark.
He served as the consort of the British monarch from her accession as queen on 6 February 1952 until his death in 2021.
They had four children: Charles III; Anne, Princess Royal; Prince Andrew, Duke of York; and Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex.

Their first son, Charles, was born in 1948
Princess Anne was born in 1950,
Prince Andrew in 1960, and
Prince Edward in 1964.

Her father passed away in February 1952.
She was crowned at Westminster Abbey on June 2, 1953, at the age of 25, in front of an estimated 20 million viewers of the then-record TV broadcast.
She became queen regnant of seven independent Commonwealth countries: